Eight Indians in new Forbes richest 100

Steel Tycoon Lakshmi Mittal edged out Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani to take the title of the world's richest Indian in the latest Forbes rich list, according to the magazine's web site. Counting the Essar Group's Ruia brothers as two, even though the magazine combines their fortune to put them in the top echelon, there are eight Indians in total in the top 100 — though at least two of them, Mittal and Vedanta Resources honcho Anil Agarwal, reside in the UK. Anil Ambani — short-term loser in the split-up of the Reliance empire — came in at Number 103.

If I didn't miscount or misread the web site somehow, there were around 55 Indian billionaires in the complete list, but I recommend you crunch the numbers yourself with the site's slick search and sort functions, if billionaires are your thing.

On a side note: Is it me, or are the Indian billionaires in the lead for the worst haircuts?  Weigh in….